Being born on a Friday the 13th never really bothered me. The year was 1973 and there was lots of good music in the air as I would discover myself later on. I don’t have many musical memories from my early years except for that small children’s guitar that was standing in my grandparent’s living room. I would occasionally bang on it. My grandmother made me my first pick from some plastic and it served me well “playing” that small guitar. I think the guitar-seed was planted right there although it would be years before I really got interested in playing guitar.
When I was about 15, I was amazed by the bassplaying of Mark King of Level42 and I wanted to learn bass myself. My dad, who also plays guitar, told me that I would be better of starting with guitar first, before switching to bass. Up to this day I’m still trying to get the grips of the guitar so I’ve never actually made the switch to bass :-). My first guitar was an el-cheapo acoustic and I learned my first chords and songs. I remember learning the intro ‘lick’ to Lola from the Kinks (the D-chord thingy) and I would drive my mother insane playing it over and over and over and over again. Definitely not the last time!
So after some years struggling the acoustic, it was time for my first electric and an amp. More noise!!! My parents “loved” that for sure. I kept playing in my bedroom for years but never joined a band. I roadie’d for a couple of bands which was cool. My first steps in a band environment happened a couple of years later. I don’t remember anymore how and when but I ended up playing in a couple of original bands, then some coverbands, then more than 1 band at the same time etc etc.
My first gear-thinkering happened around the same time and it started with trying to find a way not having to tune in the wide open I figured out a way to do it with a Boss Line Selector and a tuner on the board. First gear problem solved!!! So then the gear-bug bit me badly and I started buying and selling gear. I have built and rebuild plenty of pedalboards and rack setups throughout the years. Not in the least fueled by the internet and the wealth of information that is on there, it skyrocketed my interest in gear and it has lead me to where I am now. I learned a lot, bought and sold a bunch of gear and foremost, have met a bunch of cool people.
These days, I am focusing on my playing more than gear although I am still a nutcase for cool gear. Having a lot of fun playing with my bands and am looking forward to some nice gigs in the future.
From now one, I will provide gear-related services and sell certain products. Throughout the years I have build a number of pedalboards and racks and I feel confident that I can now offer this service to customers. The products I will be selling range from my own custom build cables to all sorts of pedalboard and rack stuff.
